Consumer equipment devices that operate within a wireless network are becoming ever-greater consumers of bandwidth. Users expect such electronic devices to allow them to access bandwidth-intensive technologies such as high-definition video streaming, video-based calling, etc.
To provide users access to very high bandwidth technologies over a wireless network, techniques may be required to increase the bandwidth available to a consumer equipment device. Carrier aggregation of downstream signals has been proposed in Long Term Evolution (LTE) Advanced networks to increase the bandwidth available for downstream communications to a consumer equipment device.
While carrier aggregation may be used to increase throughput, it may also result in an unwanted effect. More specifically, when carriers are aggregated, they may produce intermodulation distortion (IMD). This occurs when the carriers that are aggregated combine in non-linear network elements such as a power amplifier to form additional signals which may be referred to as IMD products. When an IMD product falls within a pass-band of a receiver that is in use on the consumer equipment device, a degraded reception problem may occur at the consumer equipment device. For example, a downstream communication to the consumer equipment device may experience interference due to the IMD product.
Like reference numerals are used in the drawings to denote like elements and components.